Self-Hosting IT-Tools with Docker Compose

What Is IT-Tools?

IT-Tools is a self-hosted collection of 80+ handy utilities for developers and IT professionals. Base64 encoder, JWT decoder, UUID generator, hash calculator, cron expression parser, JSON formatter, regex tester, color converter, and dozens more — all in one clean web interface. Everything runs client-side in the browser with zero data sent to any server. Official repo.

Updated February 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations.

Prerequisites

• A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
• Docker and Docker Compose installed (guide)
• 128 MB of free RAM
• 500 MB of free disk space

Docker Compose Configuration

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  it-tools:
    image: corentinth/it-tools:2024.10.22-7ca5933
    container_name: it-tools
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"

No environment variables, no volumes, no database. IT-Tools is a fully static web application served by Nginx inside the container.

Start the stack:

docker compose up -d

Initial Setup

Open http://your-server-ip:8080 in your browser. That’s it — all tools are immediately available. No accounts, no configuration, no setup wizard.

Available Tools

IT-Tools includes 80+ utilities organized by category:

Category	Notable Tools
Crypto	Token generator, hash text (MD5/SHA), UUID generator, ULID generator, encryption/decryption
Converter	Date-time converter, integer base converter, color converter, case converter, JSON ↔ YAML/TOML/CSV
Web	URL encoder/decoder, URL parser, device info, HTTP status codes, MIME type lookup
Development	JWT decoder, JSON diff, regex tester, cron expression parser, SQL prettifier, Git cheatsheet
Network	IPv4 subnet calculator, MAC address lookup, IPv4/IPv6 converter, port list
Math	Math evaluator, ETA calculator, percentage calculator
Text	Lorem ipsum generator, text statistics, emoji picker, string obfuscator
Images	QR code generator, SVG placeholder generator, camera stream viewer

Key Advantages Over Online Alternatives

Feature	IT-Tools (Self-Hosted)	Online Tools
Data privacy	All processing client-side	Data sent to third-party servers
Availability	Works offline on LAN	Requires internet
Ads	None	Covered in ads
Speed	Instant (local network)	Variable latency
Trust	You control the code	Unknown data handling

Configuration

IT-Tools requires no configuration. All tools run in the browser with JavaScript — the server only serves static files.

Custom Port

Change the host port mapping if 8080 is taken:

ports:
  - "3000:80"

Restrict to Local Network

Bind to a specific interface:

ports:
  - "192.168.1.100:8080:80"

Reverse Proxy

Place behind a reverse proxy for HTTPS access and custom domain. See Reverse Proxy Setup.

Backup

IT-Tools is stateless — there’s nothing to back up. The container image contains everything. To “back up,” just keep your docker-compose.yml.

Troubleshooting

Page Loads But Tools Don’t Work

Symptom: The UI renders but tools fail with JavaScript errors. Fix: Clear browser cache. Some browsers with aggressive ad blockers may interfere with client-side JavaScript. Try disabling extensions or using an allow-list for your IT-Tools domain.

Port Conflict on 8080

Symptom: Container fails to start with port binding error. Fix: Change the host port: "3000:80". Check what’s using 8080 with ss -tlnp | grep 8080.

Container Exits Immediately

Symptom: Container starts and stops. Fix: Check logs with docker compose logs it-tools. Usually a port conflict or resource issue. The image requires minimal resources — 128 MB RAM is sufficient.

Resource Requirements

• RAM: ~20 MB (Nginx serving static files)
• CPU: Negligible — all computation happens in the browser
• Disk: ~100 MB for the Docker image

Verdict

IT-Tools is one of those “just deploy it” containers. Five seconds to set up, zero maintenance, and you’ll use it daily. Every time you’d normally Google “base64 decode online” or “jwt decoder” and land on some ad-infested site, you open your self-hosted IT-Tools instead. The data never leaves your network. There’s no real competitor in the self-hosted space — CyberChef handles similar encoding/decoding but with a steeper learning curve. IT-Tools wins on simplicity and breadth.

Related

• Best Self-Hosted Development Tools
• How to Self-Host Code Server
• How to Self-Host Hoppscotch
• Code Server vs OpenVSCode Server
• Self-Hosted Alternatives to GitHub Codespaces
• Docker Compose Basics
• Reverse Proxy Setup